Power-loom



.N ANN gli@ METERS. PHO'roluTHuuwAPHER. WASHINGTON. D c.

UNITED `STATES PATENT y R. REYNOLDS, OF VALATIA VILLAGE, NEW YORK.

2POVVERJIAOOIVI.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 8,984, dated June 1, 1852.

-To allwhom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, 'RENssELAER REY- NoLDs,-of Valatia Village, town of Kinder- `hook,`and State of New York, have invented certain new and `useful Improvements 'in Power-Looms, and that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making partof this specification, in 'which- Figure :1, isa front elevation, Fig. 2, a right hand elevation, Fig. 3, a plan, Fig. 4, .a vertical section vtaken at the line m, of Fig. 1, Fig. 5., a section of the lay `taken at the line y, y, of Fig. 3, Fig. '6, a section of the picker, Fig. 7, a separate perspective view, Vfull size of the Vtemple and Fig. 8, a longitudinal vertical section thereof.

The same let-ters indicate like parts in all the figures.

Since the lirst successful application of the power loom to the art of weaving, nearly all,rand by far the most important improvements which have been made in the loom for weaving plain fabrics Aare to be found in vapparently slight modifications of the mechanism with the view to increase the speed without giving such serious shocks, either -to themechanismor the threads to be woven as Ywould break them. Rapidity of weaving, quality of product, c heapness of original construction anddurability, are the essential objects to be attained in t-he great rivalry of weaving. Every modification therefore, that either increases the rapidity of weaving, reduces vthe original cost, or increases the Vdurability -or improves the quality of the fabric produced, becames of nai tional importance.

To the best of my lmowledge the highest practical speed heretofore attained is 140 picks per minute. But by my improvements I .have been able to attain with entire success about 200 picks per minute, while at the same time I have reduced the cost of construction without increasing the liability to break.

The first part ofi-my invention relates to the picker staff motion. The upper ends of the picker staffs in my improved loom co-nstitute the pickers for driving the shuttle, and as for this purpose lthat face of the picker which :strikes `the shuttle must duri v l ing its vibration traverse along a line parallel with the surface of the race board, the lower end of the staffs to this end are formed with rockers the curves of which are segments of circles struck from the Vpoints of contact with the point of the shuttle. This has heretofore been done and I do nottherefore claim it, as of my invention; but the mode of application heretofore adopted is defective. The rocker was connected with and kept onto its bed on the lay by one or two jointed links or metal straps jointed at one end to the rocker and at the other to the bed, which necessarily caused the rocker at every vibration to slide on its bed. Besides this mode ofconnection would not admit of the rapid motions which I desire to, and have attained. The nature of this part of my invention consists in connecting the rocker of the picker staff with the bed on which it rocks by means of a strap interposed between the two, and attached at one end tothe outer end -of the rocker, and at the other to the inner end of the bed, so that the tension of the spring vwhich draws back the picker staff, and the resistance of the shuttle always keep this interposed strap tight, while the rocker is held down to the bed by the tension of the connecting strap and the strap from the treadle by which it is operated. By this means the parts are rendered durable, avoid friction and admit of much greater rapidity of motion than ever before attained.

The second part of my invention, relates to the method of arresting the shuttle when boxing. At the time the Lshuttle enters the boX it should meet with a gradual resistance to arrest its momentum lto avoid the shock and its consequences which otherwise would be produced by striking against the picker. This has heretofore been done by means of `a spring .lever in front of each shuttle boX called the binder. It is important that there should be as little resistance as possible to the motion ofthe shuttle at the time of starting. With the view to effect this last object, looms have heretofore been constructed witha lever vprojecting from what is called the protector rod which is connected with the shuttle binders, and at the time the shuttle is thrown this lever is struck by a pin on one of the connecting rods by which motion is communicated from the cranks to the lay, thus elevating this lever, so as to remove the pressure of the springs from the binders at the time the shuttle is thrown. This mode however is defective for the reasons that the binders always present the same resistance tothe shuttle, from the time it begins until it has completely entered the' shuttle box; and because it will not admit'of very rapid motions on account of the shocks produced by the striking of the pin against the lever. These defects I have avoided by leaving the shuttle free from vthe binders at all times except when entering the box,and gradually increasing the pressure of the binders, as the shuttle moves in the box until it is entirely arrested. And to this end the second part of my invention consists in forcing the binders inward against the shuttle, while entering the box, by means of an arm on a rocker provided with a spring, which is acted upon by a pin on one of the connecting v rods extending from one of the cranks to the lay. In this way I avoid the severe shocks, heretofore experienced, the spring gradually yielding to the action of the pin, and the pressure on the binders being vgradually increased to gradually arrest the shuttle by the increasing tension given to the spring by the motion of the pin. I have vfound by repeatedexperiments, that at the high velocities which I have attained on my improved loom, that metal springs under the rapid vibrations induced by percussion to which they are exposed, break so often, as to render the expense of renewing them together with the loss of time a matter of serious consideration. 'Io remedy this, I instituted a series of experiments and finally discovered that springs made of wood will resist the most rapid vibrations induced by i percussion, for a long time without being seriously injured.

The fourth part of my invention relates to the mode of securing the raw hide to the picker staffs. The force and rapidity given to the points of the shuttle by the pickers cause small pieces ofthe raw hide to break off which frequently lodge on, and are woven into the'cloth, thus injuring the surface of the fabric, and, when' intended for prints, seriously injuring it by indenting the surface of the rollers; and besides the upper end of the picker staffs being necessarily small it became aserious matter to devise a practical mode of securing the raw hiderto the wooden sta's. The nature of this part of my invention consists in letting in and fitting the raw hide to the face of the picker staff and securing it thereby' by a leather strap or its equivalent which envelops the two, thus firmly securing the two together and at the same time preventing pieces from breaking and flying oft'.

In the accompanying drawings a, represents the frame of the loom, and Z9, the driving shaft which communicates motion to the crank or lay shaft c, by cog wheels CZ, d. On the end of the driving shaft there is a loose pulley e, which receives the belt from some first mover. On the hub of this pulley there is a collar f (which turns freely between shoulders) provided with a pin that passes through ahole in a lever g, that turns on a fulcrum pin h, the end of the said lever being Vpassed through a mortise in the spring shipper z', so that by the motion of the shipper the loose pulley is made to slide on its shaft.

By the side of the loose pulley there is an arm or wheel j, fixed to the shaft, and provided with a clutch spur corresponding with a like spur 7s, on the loose pulley, so that when the pulley is pushed in by the shipper, the pulley and wheel shall be clutched, to communicate motion to the shaft, and when pushed out by liberating the shipper, that the pulley shall run free, The great advantage of this arrangement over the usual mode of driving looms by means of the fast and loose pulley, is that the loose Apulley is instantaneously connected or disconnected from the clutch wheel, while in the old VInode a considerable length of time is required to complete the connection on account of the width of the belt, thereby alsooccasioning a loss of power.

On the end of the lay shaft there is a iiywheel Z, against the periphery of which a brake m, makes friction when the loom is thrown out of gear. This brake is hung'on a stud pin a, and its upper end is connected by a rod 0, with a shipping lever p, turning on a fulcrum pin under the breast beam, the inner end of the said lever being connected with the protector stop g. The race beam of the lay is provided with a protector r of the usual construction, but the tensionof its spring, s, is just suiicient to hold up the protector r, but not to force its arms t, t, so hard against the shuttle binders u, u, as to bind `against the shuttle in the shuttle boxes.

From the foregoing arrangement it will be seen, that during the operation of the loom when the lay beats up,if the shuttle is in either ofthe boxes, the corresponding binder will be thrown outwhich so far depresses the protectoras to pass under the protector stop g,rbut if the shuttle fails to box as the lay beats up, the protector strikes against and pushes forward the protector stop which'liberates the shipper, unclutches the loose pulley, and immediately after f forms the connection between the crank and the lay, so that as this pin continues to descend in its circuit, it increases the tension of the spring lw, which being on the rod e, forces the binders u, u, as the shuttle is boxing, thus gradually increasing the resistance until the shuttle is brought to a state of rest, and then by the continued motion of the pin, the spring is liberated relieving the shuttle from the pressure of the binders. In this way the binders only act on the shuttle as it is boxing, and this by a gradually increasing force. The spring w, I prefer to make of ash wood, as I have found this kind of wood to be best adapted to the purpose.

The race beam a', of the lay is made of wood, and between the shuttle boxes the surface is plated with sheet metal turned down at both edges to form flanches, one in front and the other let into the mortise which receives the reed. Itis secured to the wood by screws in front, so that the upper surface is smooth to avoid friction as much as possible. The turning of the edges of the sheet metal to form the l'lanches, gives stiffness, which adds greatly to the strength of the lay with little weight. The shuttle boxes 0, c', are made of sheet metal also attached to the ends of the race beam. The front edge cl is turned down to make a lianch in front; two other anches e', e, being bent down to make the slot in which the picker stas work, and the back edge i7', to form the back guide for the shuttle. Thus Y formed they are secured by screws and bolts to the race beam and to the upper ends of the swords of the lay where they project up above the race beam. The shuttle binders form the front of the boxes, except at the inner ends, which are provided with guide plates g, g, attached by bolts to the upper ends of the swords.

The lay just above the axis of vibration extends out beyond t-he frame on eac-h side to form two beds 71X, L, on which play the rockers i z" of the shuttle staffs j', j. The curves of these rockers are segments of circles struck from the points lo, c, where the staifs strike the points of the shuttle, so that during the vibrations these points shall traverse alo-ng a line parallel with the surface of the race beam. The rockers are formed with lianches on both sides to embrace the bed on which they rock. Between each rocker and its bed there is interposed a leather strap Z, attached at the inner end to the bed, and at the outer end to the rocker, and as the picker staff is drawn outward by a spring m', attached to the end of the race beam and connected with the staff near its lower end by a strap n', the tension of the spring always keeps the interposed strap Z, tight. The treadles o', 0', which are operated in the usual way, communicate motion to the pickers for driving the shuttle by means of straps p', p, which pass over the inner ends of the rockers, so

that the rockers are kept on their beds by the lanches, back and front, by the straps of the treadles and by the interposed straps. In this way the shuttle motions are communicated with the least friction without noise, retaining the part which strikes the shuttle during the entire range of motion always parallel with the race beam, and the mot-ions can be carried to the highest velocities without breaking.

The upper end of each picker staff is cut out at the front face to which is fit-ted a piece of raw hide s, and the two are then embraced and bound together by a leather strap t, the two back edges of the staff being notched to hold the leather strap in place. In this way the raw hide is firmly held in place, and pieces are prevented from breaking and ying olf.

The temples made as represented at Figs. 7, and 8, of full size are, to be secured in the usual manner to the frame, one on each side. The stationary jaw u', is lined with leather o', or vulcanized India rubber, or any analogous substance, and the movable spring jaw fw', is made with teeth in the usual way so that the selvage of the fabric woven is gripped between the teeth and the lining, by which it is held to the required tension without injury.

Having thus pointed out the principles or characteristics which distinguish my invent-ion from all other things before known, andthe mode of constructing, applying and using the same which- I have essayed with success,

What I claim, as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

l. Connecting the rocker of each picker staE, made and operated substantially as specified, with the bed on which it rocks by means of an interposed strap of leather or other flexible substance, attached at the inner end to the bed, and at the outer end to the rocker, substantially as, and for the purpose specified.

2. Forcing the shuttle binders inward against the shuttle while boxing, by a gradually increasing force, by means of arms on a rocker provided with a spring, which is acted upon by a pin on the connecting rod of the lay, substantially as described.

3. Securing the rawhide pickers to the inner face of the staffs by means of a leather strap or the equivalent thereof, embracing and binding the two together, substantially as described, to insure the irm union to resist the rapid blows and to prevent pieces of aw hide from breaking and flying as set orth.

RENSSELAER REYNOLDS.

WM. H. BISHOP. 

